Nado Natterings Back to Islandersports
A weekly column by David Axelson

Nado Natterings
by David Axelson, Chief Executive Officer
The Islander Sports Foundation

19 Nov 2008 Issue No. 44

Currently 23-6 on the season, the Coronado Boys Water Polo season now comes down to potentially two final games in the CIF Division II Playoffs. After running roughshod over Point Loma by the score of 23-6 and Santa Fe Christian 14-6 last week in the first two rounds, the Islanders face the tough task Tuesday of playing No. 3 seed La Jolla in the Vikings’ home pool in the divisional semi-finals.

This will mark the third meeting between the two schools. Coronado won the first game played at La Jolla 7-4 and the Vikings returned the favor with a 9-8 victory over the Islanders at the Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Center. Losing the second game to La Jolla likely cost Coronado the No. 1 seed in Division II and definitely cost Coronado at least a part of the Western League championship.

Should Coronado prevail, they will face the winner of the Bishop’s vs. Cathedral Catholic semi-final Saturday Nov. 22 at 5 pm. All of the remaining CIF games will be played at La Jolla’s Coggan Family Pool.

As the No.2 seed in the playoffs, Coronado faced No. 15 seed Point Loma in the first round in the Islanders home pool and they raced to an 11-1 lead in the first quarter. Somewhat symmetrically, Coronado had 11 players score in the game, lead by Alex Johnson with five goals, Rex Butler with four and Eitan Peled with three. Asante Sefa-Boakye and Tommy Schofer added two goals each, with single goals coming from Adam Ratcliffe, Van Burgess who also added three assists, Brendan Farrell, Anthony Salvatore, Brennan Casey and Patrick Geer.

Goalies from all of the Islander program levels played a quarter each, including Justin Parsons, Joe Clarkson, Garrett Sabesky and Braydon Hummeldorf. The statistical leader of the quartet was Hummeldorf with a block, and an assist while yielding only one goal.

Saturday afternoon it was more of the same, this time with the venue switched to La Jolla, as Coronado took an 11-2 lead into the fourth quarter. Butler and Johnson scored four goals each, with Andrew Ireland and Schofer scoring twice each. Schofer was also credited with four assists. David Rodriguez and Geer rounded out the scoring with a goal each. Parsons was credited with nine saves in three quarters of play, with Clarkson completing the game in goal.

CIF Play is now down to the Final Four, all from the Western League and all members of long-time or slowly-building rivalries with each other. But for Coronado Head Coach Randy Burgess the game plan is simple. “We have to come out and put together our best games. Regardless of the opponents in this game and the next, we have to perform at the level we are capable of. If we play to our level, we’ll close out the next two games.”

The Islanders may have a psychological advantage of sorts against La Jolla, as Coronado’s season-long assists leader Schofer missed the last contest with the Vikings as he was away from the team. “All three of our remaining possible opponents will focus on shutting down (center forward) Alex Johnson,” Burgess said. “I’m hoping that loss to La Jolla was a good thing for us.

Islander Football Team Earns No. 5 CIF Division IV Seed

Friday night was the annual Homecoming football game for Coronado and to paraphrase Islander Head Coach Bud Mayfield, “Nobody does Homecoming like Coronado.” Athletes abounded in the Homecoming Court and reigning Islander Softball MVP Sandra Cepin was named Homecoming Queen.

The halftime ceremony added glitz to what could best be described as competitive carnage on the gridiron as senior Co-Captain Mason Mills carved up the Morse defensive secondary for six touchdown passes en route to Coronado’s 41-7 victory.  Before four and a half minutes had ticked off the game clock at Niedermeyer Field, Mills had thrown scoring passes to Blake Malkemus and Keith Englehart and the game was over pretty quickly after that. Apparently opting not to share with others, Malkemus and Englehart evenly divided the six touchdown catches between them. Mills wound up the game 15-21 in passing attempts for 270 yards. His six TD tosses should lengthen his county-wide lead in that category among all CIF divisions.

For his part, Malkemus caught seven total passes for 74 yards and Englehart caught a total of five balls for 125 yards. According to Mayfield, the triumvirate of Mills, Malkemus and Englehart are winners of the Islander Players of the Week honors.

The Morse game marked the next round in the sibling rivalry among junior Kodie Englehart and his older brother senior Keith, who seemingly have alternated Weekly MVP honors this season. It wasn’t like Kodie took the week off either. Among Englehart the Younger’s contributions against Morse were a 55-yard kickoff return to start the second half, two pass receptions for 47 yards, all combined with stellar play on the defensive side of the ball. “They’re both so gifted,” Mayfield said of the Brothers Englehart. “Kodie has been a little quiet (lately), but so has Billy Garigen. Maybe it will be those two next week. We had some nice runs from Chris Page, who also caught a swing pass out of the backfield. Mason ran pretty well too.”

The most athletic play of the game belonged to Englehart the Elder, who made a backward leaping, acrobatic catch for his first TD grab. “It was a great catch,” Mayfield said. “The ball was thrown to the wrong shoulder, and he had to twist and turn around, then get a foot down.”

Other contributions to the game included seven consecutive kickoffs into the end zone by senior place kicker Christian Herrera, which must be an unofficial Islander record. Other nice individual efforts included a pass interception by Garigen, a fumble recovery by Bryan Crabb, and late in the contest, a 30-yard pass completion from junior back-up quarterback Patrick Toomey to sophomore tight end Alex Bookout in what may be a preview of an element of the 2009 CHS offense.

The game could have been even more one-sided, but Mayfield directed Toomey to take a knee on four consecutive plays from the Morse one-yard line in, the contest’s final 2 minutes. 

Coronado finished the regular season with an 8-2 mark and a second place finish in the Central League to Madison. Saturday, all of the CIF divisional football seedings were released and Coronado wound up in the No. 5 slot behind Valley Center, Madison, Mater Dei (formerly Marian Catholic), and Santa Fe Christian.

The Islanders home loss to SFC Oct. 17 by the score of 30-20 is the major factor in Coronado having to play on the road in the first round of the playoffs. “Everything went as predicted,” Mayfield said of the Division IV playoff lineup. “But Mater Dei jumped up and knocked everybody down a little bit. Mater Dei had a tough schedule and lost to good teams, but a loss is a loss and they lost by some big scores. We were probably No. 4, but we lost head-to-head to Santa Fe Christian and they (the CIF) flipped us.”

A press time, we know when and at what time the Islander’s playoff game with Santa Fe Christian will be played, but the site is up in the air. The CIF has decreed that all of the games are to be played Friday evening, Nov. 28 at 7 pm, but the SFC home field doesn’t have lights. “They’ll have to bring in lights or rent somebody else’s field,” Mayfield said. Unfortunately sending the game to Coronado isn’t a viable option. “It’s their home game and their choice,” Mayfield said of the game site. “Wherever we go is good for us. We won’t have an afternoon game or have to play at their small venue, plus it will be at night which is good for us.

Mayfield knows what is coming from the Eagles and has game tape aplenty to study. “If we can stop their offense a bit, it could be a good game for us. I feel like we are doing pretty well and we don’t have any key injuries. We have our enthusiasm and in some ways it looks like we are peaking. Things look pretty good at the moment, but cross your fingers.”

Five Islanders Earn All-League Honors in Cross Country

George Green, head cross country coach at CHS, checks in with the good news from his program as the CIF Sectional Meet approaches. “The league phase of the cross country season ended last week with finals for all schools county-wide.

Coronado is in the City Conference which is composed of 21 teams in three leagues, Central, Western, and Eastern. All of the City leagues hold their dual meets and finals on the same course at Morley Field, but on different days of the week.

The Central League finals were Wednesday, the Eastern was Thursday, and the Western was Friday. The Top 10 finishers in each meet were declared members of the All-League team.

In the Central League Girls' race, Sallie Privett and Annie Lovering ran together for most of the race placing second and third respectively over the 3-mile course with times of 18:53 and 18:56. Sadie Gimber was next placing sixth in 19:58 followed by Nicole Davies (9^th in 20:29), Adie Davies (11^th in 20:50), Natalie Pettee (15^th in 21:44), Selina Schmeck (16^th) and Yvonne Wood (27^th).

Coronado and Clairemont dominated the Central League awards, each taking four out of the Top 10 places. Although many of the girls were running in cruise control to conserve themselves for this Saturday's CIF finals, a virtual race put together from the results of all three leagues showed Coronado on top with a score of 70 and Clairemont in second with 91 points, just edging out University City with 92.

In the boys' race David Grimes was our only All-League finisher with a fourth place finish in 16:55. Sean O'Brien just missed by placing 11^th  in 17:45 followed by Kevin Siefert (13^th  in 17:56), Andy Centeno (15^th in 18:07), Cotter Stacy, Will Funk, Ben Green, Danny Luiken, Chase Dalton, Nicolas Robles, Luke McCue, Jack Nolan, Lucas Hemp and Alex Fish.

As I mentioned last week, the Central League determines team championships by win-loss record only. Our Girls were the league champions this season and the Boys finished third behind excellent teams from Clairemont and Christian. The season is now over for all but the Top 7 Boys and Girls runners who will run at the CIF Finals Saturday. All schools in the San Diego Section will be there with the first race (Division I Boys) starting at 8:30 am. The Coronado Girls will run at 11:10 am and the Islander Boys at 12:50 pm.”

Davis Fares Well in CIF Golf Match

CIF Playoff competition in most sports is split into divisions, but in a few (Boys and Girls Golf, Boys and Girls Lacrosse, Boys and Girls Tennis) there are no divisions and the competition for championships can be pretty intense.

CHS Junior Jackie Davis was the lone Islander in the CIF Golf playoffs this year and responded well to the challenge, according to CHS Coach Randy Coutts. “I think Jackie played as well as she could play from tee to green. She was pretty darned competitive. If she would have putted a little better, she would have been close to the Top 12. She held it together and didn’t have any ‘blow-up’ holes. She had a few too many three-putt holes, but she didn’t have more than one double bogey in the tournament.”

The two-day CIF competition was held at Warner Springs last Tuesday and Thursday. Coutts estimated that Davis finished inside the Top 20 out of a field of 140 golfers. “She was very happy,” said Coutts of Davis. “She gives us hope for the future.”

CHS Girls Tennis Has Success in Western League Championships

We’ve made note in this and past seasons regarding the difficulty of competing in the Western League in tennis. Some of the best teams in the County compete in the league and good results are hard to come by.

Last week two Islander doubles teams made some noise competitively speaking in the Western League championships. Alex Rawlings and Mary Mulvey won their first round match, before falling to the No. 6 seeds from Our Lady of Peace in the Round of 16 by the score of 6-2 and 6-2.

“The team that shocked everybody,” said CHS Head Coach Rob LeBuhn, “was the doubles team of Natalie Brooks and Kirsten Krock. They won in their first round match against OLP and then they knocked off the No. 7 seed from La Jolla 6-2 and 7-6 (10-8). Natalie and Kirsten had three set points against them and they played very, very well. They lost the next day to the No. 2 seed from Cathedral Catholic 6-1 and 6-2.”

Unless Brooks/Krock receive a late entry into the CIF individual playoffs, the CHS season has concluded on an up note.

Pacas Wins Martial Arts Divisional Titles

Word came last week from Palm Academy Principal Kevin Nicolls that senior Abel Pacas competed in the recent U.S. Open International Martial Arts Championships, held in Atlanta.

We’ll let Nicolls pick up the narrative. “As a 130-pound mixed martial arts contender in the 124-132 pound division of the Men’s Sanshou competition, Pacas won all eight of his fights and took first place. The meet officials offered him the opportunity to compete in the higher 144-154 pound division and Abel accepted the challenge. He went on to win another eight successive fights and another first place medal.”Thanks Kevin for the note and congratulations to Abel for his achievements.

Girls Basketball Thanksgiving Tournament Starts Nov. 28^th

Around most major holidays, the pace seems to quicken and sometimes athletic events have a tendency to sneak up on you. Despite the fact that my daughter Kristen Axelson played in four Coronado Thanksgiving Tournaments while a member of the Islander Girls Varsity Basketball Team, Your Natterer always seems to be surprised when the event approaches each year. Guessing you have similar thoughts, a brief preview of this year’s event might be worthwhile.

Starting the Friday after Thanksgiving, the 2008 edition of the tournament has 10 teams split into two pools. Coronado’s side of the bracket includes San Dieguito, Our Lady of Peace, Hilltop and Holtville. Competing in Pool B are Chula Vista, Ramona, University City, Imperial and Point Loma.

The beauty of the tournament is that two games are going at all times and if one game isn’t to your liking, you can wander over to the other court and check out that game. Friday Coronado plays San Dieguito at 12:40 pm and then follows up that contest with a game against Holtville at 5:40 pm. Saturday there is a similar schedule, with Coronado playing Hilltop at 12:40 pm and then hosting OLP at 4 pm.

Results from the first two days of play and four games, are then used to seed the final round, which will be played Saturday, Dec. 6 at Coronado.

Islander Head Coach Toler Goodwin, who also serves as tournament director, noted that while practices for Girls Basketball at CHS have started, the number of student-athletes in the program is thin and there is space for anyone who is interested in playing. In the meantime, circle Nov. 28 and 29 on your calendar for a fun and competitive tournament.

Chargers Reflections

While watching Sunday’s Chargers game at Pittsburgh, there was plenty of time left over to contemplate some of the great philosophical questions of our time. Instead, I chose to focus on the question of which series of Geico Insurance commercials were the most irritating and unwatchable – the Gecko series featuring the lurking and startlingly unfunny English narrator and the animated lizard, or the Caveman series which is incomprehensibly stupid. By comparison, the Aflac Insurance Duck commercials are destined to be eternal works of museum-quality commercial art.

But I digress.

There was nothing artful, commercial or otherwise, about the Chargers 11-10 loss to the Steelers. I have to admit to some bias in the game, as I graduated from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), the same school that Steelers signal caller Ben Roethlisberger attended (Go Red Hawks!). So all things being equal, I like to see Big Ben do well.

That rooting interest aside, even when the Chargers held a slight lead late in the contest, I didn’t get the feeling they were really in position to win the game. The Steelers seemingly had the market cornered on bonehead penalties, but still managed to win the game.

With the speed and ferocity of most defenses in the NFL, creating turnovers has become an important key to winning games. Sunday’s game marked the fourth consecutive game that the Chargers have had neither a fumble recovery nor a pass interception. That’s hard to fathom.

The defensive unit as a whole seems to be playing better and it should be pointed out that they did not yield a touchdown, but did give up three field goals. That should be enough defense to win most games. But when it counted, down the stretch, San Diego couldn’t stop an anemic Steelers offense from scoring to win the game.

The offense under Charger Head Coach Norv Turner seems to be unimaginative and frankly dull. All World running back LaDainian Tomlinson seems to be rounding into form finally, but it may be too little, too late.

One year ago the Chargers had nine players named to the AFC squad for the Pro Bowl. They included Kris Dielman, Antonio Gates, Lorenzo Neal (subsequently released), Jamal Williams, Shawne Merriman (now injured), Antonio Cromartie, Kassim Osgood, Philip Rivers and Tomlinson. Rivers and Tomlinson made the squad, but didn’t play due to injury.

Of that group, only Rivers is having a sufficiently strong season statistically to be considered for a Pro Bowl slot in 2009 and he is in a race that he might not win with Peyton Manning of the Colts, the aforementioned Roethlisberger, Jay Cutler of Denver and Brett Favre of the New York Jets. The Chargers’ lone Pro Bowl slot may go to punter Mike Scifres, who is having a great year, leading the NFL in net punting average. 

In short, in 2007 the Chargers became better than the sum of their parts, pulling together as a team to make a deep, and sustained playoff drive. Pro Bowl voters and a lot of fans probably overrated the Bolts and their talent last year. I know I did.